Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)

dir Susan Seidelman

Once I knew a girl who was adamant that a cool jacket could totally transform your life, and you know what? She was totally right. I hope she’s seen this movie.

I feel like Susan Seidelman has the same thing going on as Gregg Araki where she makes movies that have the same overlapping ideas, slightly altered or translated to fit a different storyline. While Araki is fixated on bisexual guys at the end of the world, Seidelman can’t get off of the idea of women hitting a total reset on their regular lives. It feels a lot like her earlier feature, Smithereens, in the way that both protagonists navigate homelessness, unconventional relationships with men, and are forced to rewrite their view of themselves. And although I fucking love the glimpse at the New York 80s punk scene, I think Desperately Seeking Susan is much better developed.

Rosanna Arquette, I will love you forever. She’s so young in this! Pre-MILF era Rosanna. Always so hot. Same with Madonna. What a fox. The casting director here was having some sort of stroke of genius. Obviously the leads are fantastic, but everyone you see in the background roles delivers a great performance too. I don’t know how they managed to find such interesting looking people but damn, they sure did.

Stellar soundtrack, otherworldly costumes, hot women, funky sets. What more could you ask for in an 80s film?